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| Note the shirt box sized present under the tree :) |
Confucian Temple Taipei
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Christmas in Taiwan
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
November in Taiwan
Thanksgiving
Sorry that it has been so long since our last blog. The month of November became extremely busy with classes, meeting new people and going new places. As Thanksgiving approached, we started to wonder what we would do this year. Amercian Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Taiwan, so on "black" Friday Susan had class. As the day approached,iIt seemed that traditional Amercian food was out. We didn't see a turkey anywhere and we didn't have an oven to cook a turkey anyway even if we found one. Simpathetic Taiwanese friends said there are turkeys around and ususally people order cooked turkeys from "American style restaurants. As we were mulling our options, we received two invitations for Thanksgiving dinners - one from the American Institute in Taiwan (US State Department) and another from an NTU Christian student organization. We attended both and they did have turkey. We even had wild rice dressing at the AIT dinner. It was delicious! Again we are struck by the concern our friends in Taiwan have for us -- asking us if we miss our families and friends (we do!) and if we would be joining with others to celebrate this holiday. We are very thankful for their kind concern.
Travel Show Extravaganza!!!!!!
Because we are hoping to be able to visit some other Asian cities while we are here in Taiwan, we attended the yearly travel show here in Taipei. We have not attended these type of travel expositions in the US so we have nothing to compare this event with those in the US. We thought the whole of Taipei must be interested in obtaining some travel bargains. It was packed. We were one of the few Americans to attend on Saturday -- they may have had more information on the popularity of the event and stayed away. We were able to make contacts for future travel and even obtain tickets for a very reasonable price. It was worth it to see how each country was promoting itself. We even saw a promotion for Hawai'i for Hawaiian Airlines and a major hotel chain -- I think it was Jodi's former employer. We foolishly thought there might be peopel from Hawai'i -- they were dressed in Hawaiian shirts, playing Hawaiian music, but no -- they were local Taiwanese drumming up business for travel to Hawai'i.
Day in Keelung and the Gold City
We were hungry for water -- the ocean that is. Early November was very wet so it was not the rain variety that we were thirsting for. Tin the young man that Claude is tutoring invited us to go to Keelung, a harbor on the northeast coast of Taiwan with him and his girlfriend. Keelung is about as large as Taipei population wise, but less developed in some ways such as no MRT, so Tin drove us all around Keelung and the surrounding areas. One of the interesting things we did that day was to visit a former gold mining region in the mountains above Keelung Harbor. It was operated by the Japanese during the time that they occupied Taiwan, so there are historical buildings from that era and an interesting historical video that had interviews workers from that era and when the mine was turned over to Taiwanese.
Danshui (Tamshui in Taiwanese)
Yi-Hung knows all the interesting places to visit as well as where to find delicious food. The weather was cool that day so we had an opportunity to visit some interesting historical sites dating from the Portuguese, Dutch, and English occupation. It is very good traveling with Yi-Hung helps negotiate buses, etc. and always has interesting insights about the local history. We were blessed with a beautiful sunsetwe and ate delicious hot soup and dumplings. It was a great day ending.
Sorry that it has been so long since our last blog. The month of November became extremely busy with classes, meeting new people and going new places. As Thanksgiving approached, we started to wonder what we would do this year. Amercian Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Taiwan, so on "black" Friday Susan had class. As the day approached,iIt seemed that traditional Amercian food was out. We didn't see a turkey anywhere and we didn't have an oven to cook a turkey anyway even if we found one. Simpathetic Taiwanese friends said there are turkeys around and ususally people order cooked turkeys from "American style restaurants. As we were mulling our options, we received two invitations for Thanksgiving dinners - one from the American Institute in Taiwan (US State Department) and another from an NTU Christian student organization. We attended both and they did have turkey. We even had wild rice dressing at the AIT dinner. It was delicious! Again we are struck by the concern our friends in Taiwan have for us -- asking us if we miss our families and friends (we do!) and if we would be joining with others to celebrate this holiday. We are very thankful for their kind concern.
Travel Show Extravaganza!!!!!!
Because we are hoping to be able to visit some other Asian cities while we are here in Taiwan, we attended the yearly travel show here in Taipei. We have not attended these type of travel expositions in the US so we have nothing to compare this event with those in the US. We thought the whole of Taipei must be interested in obtaining some travel bargains. It was packed. We were one of the few Americans to attend on Saturday -- they may have had more information on the popularity of the event and stayed away. We were able to make contacts for future travel and even obtain tickets for a very reasonable price. It was worth it to see how each country was promoting itself. We even saw a promotion for Hawai'i for Hawaiian Airlines and a major hotel chain -- I think it was Jodi's former employer. We foolishly thought there might be peopel from Hawai'i -- they were dressed in Hawaiian shirts, playing Hawaiian music, but no -- they were local Taiwanese drumming up business for travel to Hawai'i.
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| Travel Show |
Day in Keelung and the Gold City
We were hungry for water -- the ocean that is. Early November was very wet so it was not the rain variety that we were thirsting for. Tin the young man that Claude is tutoring invited us to go to Keelung, a harbor on the northeast coast of Taiwan with him and his girlfriend. Keelung is about as large as Taipei population wise, but less developed in some ways such as no MRT, so Tin drove us all around Keelung and the surrounding areas. One of the interesting things we did that day was to visit a former gold mining region in the mountains above Keelung Harbor. It was operated by the Japanese during the time that they occupied Taiwan, so there are historical buildings from that era and an interesting historical video that had interviews workers from that era and when the mine was turned over to Taiwanese.
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| Mountains near Keelung |
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Lunch in the market | <><>
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| Keelung night market for dinner. |
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| Disability Fair |
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| The Band. |
We had another delightful afternoon in Danshui with Yi-Hung. When we stepped off the MRT, there was a disability fare to inform local people about resources for people with disabilities. I think this was one month after these events in Urbana.
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| Disabilities Fair |
Yi-Hung knows all the interesting places to visit as well as where to find delicious food. The weather was cool that day so we had an opportunity to visit some interesting historical sites dating from the Portuguese, Dutch, and English occupation. It is very good traveling with Yi-Hung helps negotiate buses, etc. and always has interesting insights about the local history. We were blessed with a beautiful sunsetwe and ate delicious hot soup and dumplings. It was a great day ending.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Little surprises around Taipei...
November 3, 2010
We have been taking some short trips around Taipei city and Taipei county during the last couple of weeks. A great thing about Taipei is that it never fails to provide a surprising delight around any corner. We thought we would give you some quick tastes.
Surprise # 1....Yes, they do have real wood pizza ovens in Taipei. Actually, a place that we like very much. It is called So-Free. The dough is made on site and so is the honey and vinegar drink choice that is quite refreshing in hot weather. There a couple of benches for about ten seats outdoors, you can sit in the small park across the street or dash home on you bicycle and still eat hot pizza. Our favorites are smoked cheese and mushroom pesto -- no meat here.
Surprise # 2...Yes, the beautiful Buddhist temple at the end of the Bannan line in Yongning is only a fifteen minute walk from the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station...if you take a bus or taxi or if you can read the signs. Since we could do none of the above, we ended up doing a little pilgrimage on foot. The temple is about half way up a lovely mountain that over looks the city. To get there you have to walk through a factory district and then up a stone path. After we left the town the road forked and we took the path less traveled. It was a warm humid day and as we neared the half-way mark we stopped for a water break. We weren't the oldest nor the youngest and as we started getting near the temple, we noticed that a number of people were walking down the mountain. They looked fresh, we looked beat. We were a little discourage until we realized that they had taken buses or taxis to the stop and were walking down. It certainly was worth the walk and we appreciated the ride back in the air conditioned taxi very much.
Surprise # 3...Treasure Hill...Yes, it is a treasure. We live close to a shopping area called Gongguan. It has a busy night market and all kinds of shops and restaurants. We saw a phamphlet on an area called Treasure Hill, an area that was originally a KMT squatters village that is becoming an artisit haven. It also overlooks Xindian Stream with a bike path that meanders along the bank. On Monday we rode our bikes to Gonguan and then walked to Treasure Hill. The Buddist Temple is one of the three oldest temples in Taipei and was established before the city of Taipei. The squatters village is being renovated int the style of the origiinal village thanks to the efforts of local citizens and NTU students. (Treasyre Hill is the site of an outdoor film festival called the Urban Nomad Film Festival. It's coming up this Saturday!) We had a delightful walk along the river in the afternoon sun. Cranes and other birds were feeding in the stream and we were only a short walk from the hectic markets of Gongguan. Many people were using the bike path for riding bikes, walking babies or just strolling near the river. It was a great afternoon.
Up for some surprises? Why don't you consider visiting us? Only 8 more months to go.
Claude and Susan
We have been taking some short trips around Taipei city and Taipei county during the last couple of weeks. A great thing about Taipei is that it never fails to provide a surprising delight around any corner. We thought we would give you some quick tastes.
Surprise # 1....Yes, they do have real wood pizza ovens in Taipei. Actually, a place that we like very much. It is called So-Free. The dough is made on site and so is the honey and vinegar drink choice that is quite refreshing in hot weather. There a couple of benches for about ten seats outdoors, you can sit in the small park across the street or dash home on you bicycle and still eat hot pizza. Our favorites are smoked cheese and mushroom pesto -- no meat here.
Surprise # 2...Yes, the beautiful Buddhist temple at the end of the Bannan line in Yongning is only a fifteen minute walk from the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station...if you take a bus or taxi or if you can read the signs. Since we could do none of the above, we ended up doing a little pilgrimage on foot. The temple is about half way up a lovely mountain that over looks the city. To get there you have to walk through a factory district and then up a stone path. After we left the town the road forked and we took the path less traveled. It was a warm humid day and as we neared the half-way mark we stopped for a water break. We weren't the oldest nor the youngest and as we started getting near the temple, we noticed that a number of people were walking down the mountain. They looked fresh, we looked beat. We were a little discourage until we realized that they had taken buses or taxis to the stop and were walking down. It certainly was worth the walk and we appreciated the ride back in the air conditioned taxi very much.
Surprise # 3...Treasure Hill...Yes, it is a treasure. We live close to a shopping area called Gongguan. It has a busy night market and all kinds of shops and restaurants. We saw a phamphlet on an area called Treasure Hill, an area that was originally a KMT squatters village that is becoming an artisit haven. It also overlooks Xindian Stream with a bike path that meanders along the bank. On Monday we rode our bikes to Gonguan and then walked to Treasure Hill. The Buddist Temple is one of the three oldest temples in Taipei and was established before the city of Taipei. The squatters village is being renovated int the style of the origiinal village thanks to the efforts of local citizens and NTU students. (Treasyre Hill is the site of an outdoor film festival called the Urban Nomad Film Festival. It's coming up this Saturday!) We had a delightful walk along the river in the afternoon sun. Cranes and other birds were feeding in the stream and we were only a short walk from the hectic markets of Gongguan. Many people were using the bike path for riding bikes, walking babies or just strolling near the river. It was a great afternoon.
Up for some surprises? Why don't you consider visiting us? Only 8 more months to go.
Claude and Susan
Monday, October 18, 2010
Update on Life in Taiwan
Hi, All,
Sorry to be remiss in updating the blog...
On the whole, we are doing very well. It is different for us living in a large city, but it is a fairly easy city to negotiate. It is clean and safe and we even found two movie theatres. They show first run movies so last weekend we saw two fun films -- not great cinema, but very fun. "RED" and "Detective D." It was fun to be there with a local audience. "RED" was in English with Chinese sub-titles and "Detective D" was in Chinese with English subtitles. RED is quit clever and had some jokes that apparently did not translate well into Chinese, so Skip and I were the only ones laughing in the audience. For the Chinese language film, the Chinese in the audience would laugh and Skip and I didn't get it. It is difficult to translate humor cross-culturally.
I am enjoying teaching and working with the students at NTU. My teaching assistant is very helpful. It is the first time that I have had a teaching assistant in all the years that I've taught and it is great not to be xeroxing and emailing students. He takes care of all of that in addition to interpreting and coaching me on cultural issues. It has been fun and I hope a learning experience for both of us.
My students are enthusiastic and responsive and seem willing to do the work they are given. They are spontaneously asking questions so I am excited about that. We at times struggle to communicate about concepts such as translating "Hansen's disease" into Chinese, but there is a willingness to help each other so that we all learn together. I like that cooperation among students and between students and professor.
One student who is in my class from the Psychology Department has asked me to consult on Group Therapy. Students are developing a "Group Work Club" to develop group work skills beyond what is taught in class. It is open to psychology and social work students. So, I am going to meet with him about this. I enjoy group work and have fun teaching this so we will see what comes of that.
I suppose the most difficult thing for us is to be away from family and friends (Are you sure you don't want to take a little fall trip to Taiwan?) We miss seeing family and friends and talking with them. We have spoken to my Mom and Dad on a regular basis and I called and talked to my Dad after a recent outpatient procedure. They seem to be doing well. They are still counting the weeks until we return. If you have SKYPE give us a call. If you send us an email we can give you the details on how to do this. It is very inexpensive (about $0.02 per minute).
Skip has been talking to people here about the "Green Machine." He toured the factory here and saw the production facility. He is also waiting for a local English language class to be filled. He should be starting teaching English as a second language soon.
It is currently rainy, but warm. We are experiencing the outer fringe of Typhoon Magi that hit the Phillipines pretty hard. Prior to that weather was breezy and pleasant. It is great to be out at night on a bike in the cool breezy air. Many people are out walking and riding on the campus, it is great!
That's it for us hope all is well with you!
Love,
Susan and Skip
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Weather is getting cooler...
Hi, All,
We didn't believe our colleagues. They said the weather would get cooler and it has happened this week. Skip and I have moved to long pants and long sleeves -- our Taiwanese colleagues are wearing jackets. We are into a fairly regular routine -- having a teaching schedule seems to do that -- it gets your life organized. Because parks and local attractions are very busy on weekends, we have been working on the weekends and visiting sites at the beginning of the week.
On Monday we took the train from Taipei to Taroko National Park. It is a park with very high cliffs made mostly of marble. It is amazing. We stayed at a B&B just at the entrance of the park. Two former middle school teachers operate the B&B. Their daughter completed an MSW at NTU and is completing a Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis. It was a great place with views of the Pacific and the mountains. The B&B arranged an English speaking guide for us. He is also a retired middle school teacher. He was very knowledgeable about stories of the gorge from aboriginal times, Japanese occupation, and current situation with respect to the aboriginal people living within the park. We also had an opportunity to see a traditional grave yard that was on the beach in Hualein. Because of the strong currents, the ocean is very dangerous. It is also the side of the island that typhoons often hit so it is not so popular. After living in Hawai'i, it is so interesting to see the beach not being used for tourists. Also, the beach is made from -- yes you guessed it marble rocks. It reminded me of Lake Superior. I understand the rock hunting on the beach is very good.
It was very interesting to visit this area. While we were in the gorge on a high mountain meadow, we experienced a small earthquake. Because of the action of tectonic plates, the mountains in Taiwan are growing several inches each year. It is constantly moving and changing.
We continue to enjoy our time here, but wish we knew Mandarin. We are thankful to all the people who help us in English or interpret our "body language." Taroko pictures coming soon.
We didn't believe our colleagues. They said the weather would get cooler and it has happened this week. Skip and I have moved to long pants and long sleeves -- our Taiwanese colleagues are wearing jackets. We are into a fairly regular routine -- having a teaching schedule seems to do that -- it gets your life organized. Because parks and local attractions are very busy on weekends, we have been working on the weekends and visiting sites at the beginning of the week.
On Monday we took the train from Taipei to Taroko National Park. It is a park with very high cliffs made mostly of marble. It is amazing. We stayed at a B&B just at the entrance of the park. Two former middle school teachers operate the B&B. Their daughter completed an MSW at NTU and is completing a Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis. It was a great place with views of the Pacific and the mountains. The B&B arranged an English speaking guide for us. He is also a retired middle school teacher. He was very knowledgeable about stories of the gorge from aboriginal times, Japanese occupation, and current situation with respect to the aboriginal people living within the park. We also had an opportunity to see a traditional grave yard that was on the beach in Hualein. Because of the strong currents, the ocean is very dangerous. It is also the side of the island that typhoons often hit so it is not so popular. After living in Hawai'i, it is so interesting to see the beach not being used for tourists. Also, the beach is made from -- yes you guessed it marble rocks. It reminded me of Lake Superior. I understand the rock hunting on the beach is very good.
It was very interesting to visit this area. While we were in the gorge on a high mountain meadow, we experienced a small earthquake. Because of the action of tectonic plates, the mountains in Taiwan are growing several inches each year. It is constantly moving and changing.
We continue to enjoy our time here, but wish we knew Mandarin. We are thankful to all the people who help us in English or interpret our "body language." Taroko pictures coming soon.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Week Number 4 - Welcome to ilha formosa
Hi, Everbody,
We just started this blog so you can check in on us at anytime to see how we are doing in Taiwan. "Ilha formosa" is the name the first Portugese sailors who saw Taiwan called the island. It means "beautiful island." Our experience so far just in Taipei and environs is that we do indeed live on a very beautiful island.
We will update the blog as we can with pictures (ourselves, students, colleagues, etc.) and stories so you can travel with us during the remaining nine months.
We just started this blog so you can check in on us at anytime to see how we are doing in Taiwan. "Ilha formosa" is the name the first Portugese sailors who saw Taiwan called the island. It means "beautiful island." Our experience so far just in Taipei and environs is that we do indeed live on a very beautiful island.
We will update the blog as we can with pictures (ourselves, students, colleagues, etc.) and stories so you can travel with us during the remaining nine months.
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